


Stuck in the Middle with You

by ZipZoom



Category: Homestuck
Genre: And they were in quarantine..... :flushed:, F/F, M/M, Multi, Quarantine, vacation gone wrong
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:41:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23176390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZipZoom/pseuds/ZipZoom
Summary: Y'all fuckers knew that this was coming.It was only a matter of time.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> John, Dave, Rose, and Jade all get stuck in Germany during a vacation they've planned all year.  
> John realizes that his friends might not be great at handling their emotions.  
> Short chapter, but the next one will be longer I promise.

“Well.” Rose began, taking in a deep breath. This wasn’t something that could be easily said, especially to her three closest friends in the world. “The good news is, we have some extra vacation time.” She tried, allowing herself to smile.

John Egbert sat on the bed of the hotel room he and his friends were sharing. They had all decided on a vacation, something to lift their spirits after a certain domino of events left their spirits crushed. Germany! They all agreed on. Germany sounds amazing. John glanced around the room, trying to gauge how everyone else was feeling at this time. Jade looked downcast, which hit John with a pang of guilt. Jade could never lie when it came to feelings. Every emotion seemingly overwhelmed her, to the point where it exploded out in any way it could. Her laughter was constant and loud, her crying was bubbling and forlorn. At the moment, she seemed to be struggling with the emotions presented to her. She was the one to organize this event, after all. She booked the tickets, mapped out where they’d go and when. She was the most excited about all of this, and now because of the possible disaster, there was no right way to feel. John moved his eyes to the couch where Dave sat, avoiding the apologetic glance Jade gave him. Dave seemed to be keeping his cool, though John wasn’t sure if Dave was even capable of losing it. In the time that the two had known each other, Dave had seen John cry, vomit, yell till he lost his voice, and even sat with him as he clawed his way through panic attacks. Yet, John had never seen Dave shed as much as a tear. It made sense to him, kinda, Dave was just one of those people that was able to ride out the wave. He felt emotions, sure, but it was easy for him to just let them go. Dave sat, scrolling through his phone, a small smirk plastered on his face as if he didn’t just hear the news. John gave a small eye roll to his best friend’s disinterest in the topic at hand, as his eyes flicked upwards to meet Roses’. Rose stood completely still, watching the room react with wide eyes, seemingly expecting a riot to break out. Rose kept her cool, but not in a Dave way. She could keep emotions bottled up, then seep them out slowly. Maybe she’d cry, but only for a few minutes. Most of the time she’d knit silently, lips pursed and eyebrows drawn together in concentration, till the threat of feeling things passed. All three of them were complete opposites when it came to feeling emotions. John wasn’t sure where he fit into this emotional mess, if he did at all.

Silence began to fill up the hotel room, as the appetite for conversation they all had earlier started to sour in their stomachs. It was impossible for them to look at one another without feeling some sort of guilt. Each felt that they had a role in this mess, one that made them the sole reason why they couldn't return home. Of course, none of them were to blame, yet they still sat in a stew of self-loathing and pity, unable to look each other in the eyes.

“Do you guys think the McDonalds is still open?” Jade asked, adjusting her glasses so she could stealthily wipe away tears.

“Are you sure burgers are worth the threat of disease?” Rose questioned, raising an eyebrow at Jade.


	2. McDonalds! McDonalds! McDonalds!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John gets nervous while ordering food. An intense debate about Mr.Mime. A group of rowdy American tourists enter the arena. 
> 
> I hope it's not too obvious that I've never been to a Mcdonalds (or Germany)

The walk to McDonalds was fairly easy. The streets were fairly deserted, making the city feel like a ghost town. Dave cracked a few jokes on the way, which prodded a few anxious laughs from the crowd. It was hard to find enjoyment in anything, as the situation seemed so dim, but soon they saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The two, perfect, golden arches, which stood bravely among the grey surroundings. 

Jade, of course, ordered first. Ice cream, a soda, and a salad. That was her exact order everywhere, it was just a lucky strike that it was on the menu. Rose went next, hesitantly ordering herself a burger, tripping over her words as she requested a fountain drink with her meal. Dave ended up having to save her from embarrassment, smoothly stepping in and explaining to the tired teenager behind the counter that Rose wanted a large drink, not a small. With that he flashed a smile and ordered himself an entire feast, patting John on the back as he reminded him who was going to pay. 

And like that, John was up to order. 

"I'd like the, uhm." His eyes washed over the menu once again, as he quietly cursed himself for not picking sooner. He had all the time in the world to read the menu, yet he was only doing it now. Why? Was he stupid? John felt his throat tighten, as his heart rate quickened. This should be easy. Why was it so hard? John always had a hard time with speaking, but ordering off a menu should be easy! Was he too spoiled by take out and sit down restaurants? Was he just a giant loser? The tired teenager, stared back at John, their soulless eyes digging into his brain. 

"We have a line sir-" The teenager reminded John, snapping him out of his downward spiral. 

As if bewitched, John spat out a semi-coherent order. "McDouble, large fries, and a slushie please." He gave the widest smile he could afterward, feeling his heart pound out of his chest.

The teenager plugged in a few numbers, giving a sigh before giving the total. John could barely hear it though, the only sound being the blood rushing through his body as he reached for his card. He fumbled around with the chip reader, clammy hands making it near impossible to do anything correctly. 

It took a hot minute, but soon enough he was able to reunite with his friends. The meal spread out in front of them, like a feast for kings. John slid in the booth next to Rose, sulking to himself as he mulled over the anxiety. Sadly, he wouldn't be able to do so in silence, as three were already deep into a nonsensical conversation.

"Mr.Mime doesn't have the competence needed to be able to stand trail," Rose argued, her eyes narrowed in annoyance,"He'd be dealt with like any other troublesome animal."

Dave leaned forward, stealing a fry from Rose's collection, drowning it in ketchup before shoving it into his mouth. "Are you saying that a Mr.Mime, a Pokemon with clear intelligence, would just be 'dealt with,' like some rabid dog? Not very forward thinking of you, Lalonde." He gave a smirk, enjoying the anger he was forcing out of his half-sister.

"This whole argument is invalid, because it implies that Mr.Mime would do anything cruel in the first place!" Cried Jade, upset by the topic at hand. "Just because he's a clown, doesn't mean he's evil! There's plenty of non-evil clowns out there!"

"Like...?" Dave asked, more smug than ever. 

"Like you! You carnival sideshow!" Jade gave a huff, stabbing the tomato in her salad with the plastic fork. Dave cringed as the red juices trickled out. 

Rose, sensing that the topic needed some sort of tie breaker, turned her attention to John, who was all to happy being unseen at the moment. "What about you, John?" She asked, resting her head on her fist. "How do you think the people of the Pokemon universe deal with crime? Especially crime committed by intelligent creatures?" She gave a soft smile, as if to apologize for dragging him into this. 

John, dazed and not paying attention, glanced around at the table as the focus was placed onto him. Three sets of eyes were glued onto his every movement as he tried to remember what the hell Mr.Mime looked like, and what other pokemon there were. He was just about to give in, when a loud slamming of a door, and the hurried movement of a stampede of hungry Americans entered the McDonalds. 

"Well fuck me up the ass! This place does have a shitty fast food joint." Shouted the shortest of the tourists, arms crossed and face in a scowl. 

"See? You should trust me more often, Karkat! I'd never lead you astray." Said one of the taller tourists, a toothy smile on her face which reminded John of a crocodile. 

"If the blind lead the blind, they both will fall into a ditch," Quoted another tourist, who's hair almost touched the floor, and excessive amount of red make up made her look more like a corpse than a lady,"It's lucky that the ditch is full of food." She gave a chuckle, which wasn't reciprocated by any of her companions. 

"Americans?" Rose guessed, looking to her friends.

"Most certainly." John groaned.

"Do you think they're stuck here like us?" Jade asked, attempting to catch another glance at them.

"Let's find out." Dave proposed. 

John opened his mouth to protest, but it was too late. Dave was waving the group over, and even worse, they were walking over.

They were going to die here. John was sure of it.


	3. Freaky People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okok so a brief description of everyone's family  
> Dirk and Roxy are Dave's older siblings, and Rose's older half siblings. Rose is the youngest child, and has a different father. They all grew up in Mexico.  
> John is an only child, with Jane being a cousin who sometimes visits. They live in Canada  
> Jake is Jade's older brother. They're both from the Philippines, but Jake is going to college in Hawaii.

Dave strode towards the group of rowdy tourists, a smile locked on his face which made him look like he had everything under control. John had always admired Dave's confidence, however he didn't envy it. It was often his smooth talking and embarrassment free attitude that got him into trouble. Dave was the kind of person who could just deal with odd stares from people on the street, finding some sort of entertainment in them. John hid behind his hands as Dave opened his mouth, feeling the second hand embarrassment rise in his chest. 

"Well, howdy." Dave greeted, his fake Texan accent surprisingly deceptive. Dave had lived near Texas his entire life, though his home was in Mexico. He was fond of copying the accent, as it was a habit he picked up as a child, mocking his older brother's clients, and his older sister's boyfriends. John had heard every story from both Dave and Rose, about the fights that broke out because of his teasing. Listening to those stories always left John feeling a bit melancholy. He had no siblings of his own, and hearing how much trouble and fun they were? It made him feel as though he was missing out.

"Tch. Howdy yourself." The shortest tourist grumbled. John noted how he seemed to shrink under Dave's presence, like the guy was intimidating. 

The corpse-lady was the next to speak, and it was at this point John could see her colored contacts. Goat eyes. How gaudy. "I'm sorry, do we know you?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "I can't think of any reason for you to approach us, if not."

Dave laughed off the corpse-lady's judgment, shrugging his shoulders casually. "Well, I was guessin' that you aren't locals here. Am I right to assume that?"

The corpse-lady thought for a moment, as if she wasn't sure of her origin. "Yes, I do suppose you are right to assume that."

"Then, I'm guessin' you're stuck here too? Just like me and my gaggle of friends over there." Dave pointed back to the table, chuckling to himself as John stared, slack jawed. 

"Yes. That is also true." The corpse-lady looked deep in thought for a moment, before a smile spread across her face. The smile sent a shiver down John's spine. "It's a pleasure to meet you then. I'm Aradia, this is Karkat, and over- hmm?" She paused, frantically looking for the third companion. John also realized that there'd been a third party with them, however he didn't see them anywhere.

He too found himself gazing over the restaurant, looking for the last tourist. 

"Boo." A shrill voice behind him said, sending a breath of hot air to the back of his neck. John jumped out of his seat, wiping his head back to see the third tourist in all her glory. "You were staring at them, yeah? Is that cool kid your friend?" Asked the girl, her firetruck red hair getting in front of her eyes. The girl looked like something out of a 2012 MCR fanblog, with tacky bracelets all up her arms, rainbow knee socks with holes, black jorts that looked 100% self cut, and to top it off, an invader zim shirt that was no doubt second hand. John had to hold back laughter as the girls stared him down.

"Yeah, Dave is my friend." He said, as casually as possible. He wasn't good at talking to strangers, not like Dave was. 

"Mmmhm." She said, raising an eyebrow. Did she think he was lying? What reason would he have to do that? 

Out of the blue, she flicked his nose, causing him to jump once again. 

"I'll give you the honor of knowing my name first." She crackled, "I'm Terezi Pyrope, the one and only."

"John Egbert." John choked out, offering a hand towards Terezi. 

"I...didn't ask." Terezi said, in a way that made John instantly feel insecure. "However, it's nice to know anyway." With that, the weird girl took John's hand, giving it a confident shake.

John wondered if he'd be able to survive, knowing a girl like that was around.


End file.
